Music Review: Sean Rowe - The Salesman and the Shark

Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe has a voice that grabs you and lyrics that keep it, and when you listen to the
fantastic collection of songs on his latest album The Salesman and the Shark, you'll wonder what took so long for Rowe
to get noticed.

While the 37-year-old Rowe probably wouldn’t have shied away from success
had he realized it with his first album, 27
(Rowe’s age at the time), he’s aware that what’s made him an exciting discovery
today required a lot of seasoning. He spent years honing his craft in noisy
bars filled with disinterested drinkers, exploring his many musical influences
and constantly finding new ones along the way. Eventually, he caught the ear of
Anti- Records, which eagerly put out his second album, Magic, in 2011. “I do feel like Magic
was a real starting point for me,” said Rowe. “Not that I hadn’t written
anything good before that, but it felt like Magic
had a real focus to it. Those songs hold some of my best literary work, I
think.”

The lyrical strength of Magic
earned him comparisons to Leonard Cohen and other lyrical and
vocal legends, something that Rowe appreciates, but has taken in stride. “It’s
natural to want to compare something we’ve never experienced with something we
already know,” said Rowe. “They are all artists I have identified with over the
years, but of course there are many more. I think the real key is absorbing
what you can from others, mix it with your own energy and then develop your own
voice.”

Rowe has established his own voice on his latest album for
Anti-, The Salesman and the Shark. Compared
to the lyrical load of Magic, the new
record offers more opportunity for Rowe to literally breathe, which emphasizes
his impressive baritone. It’s a voice that rattles your bones on the deep end,
and gives you chills when it wanders into its highest range. “I didn’t think I
needed to repeat the same feel of Magic,”
said Rowe. “I wanted the new direction to be more cinematic. I guess you could
say it has a lot more color to it than the last one.”

That point is clear on songs like “Joe’s Cult.” With its Tom
Waits-ian qualities, it sounds right at home on an Anti- recording. “A lot of
that sound was producer Woody Jackson’s influence,” said Rowe. “I love the way
that one came out. I think we recorded three drum sets at once to get the boom
that it has.”

Here's a live acoustic version of "Flying," which gets the full production treatment on The Salesman and the Shark:

The Salesman and the
Shark was recorded live in studio with real instruments, and that organic
approach pays off throughout. On songs like opener “Bring Back the Night,” Jackson complements
Rowe’s larger than life voice with a chorus and full instrumental
accompaniment. Where Magic introduced
us to Rowe the folk singer, the production and song selection on the new record
introduce us to Rowe the soul singer.

While the entire record is outstanding, Rowe’s best moments
are those in which he taps into the spiritual connection he has with nature,
and Jackson
deftly knows when to let Rowe’s voice and lyrics and take center stage. On “The
Lonely Maze,” Rowe sings “I’ll never get to that star, but I’ve seen the
universe in a blade of grass.” The lyric speaks to Rowe’s appreciation for
nature, which fuels his passion, and has been the constant
driving force through all the ups and downs in his music career. “Ultimately,
it is the source for all of my writing,” said Rowe. “I cannot separate emotion,
feeling, sensuality, sexuality, life and death from nature. They are all
intimately connected.”